Part Exchange Your Car in Scarborough

Part exchange welcome, subject to appraisal

Part exchange in Scarborough is deliberately simple. You bring the car you are driving now, Lex appraises it, and if it is something he can use he puts a figure against it and takes that off the price of the car you are buying. One appointment, one set of paperwork, and you drive home in the new one.

The words subject to appraisal matter, and they are not small print. This is a one-man family business, selling cars in Scarborough since 2001, with room for twenty-odd cars. Not every car fits that: some are worth more than anything in stock, some need work that does not add up at this end of the market. What will not happen is a figure quoted down the phone and then quietly chipped away when you arrive.

What Lex looks at when he appraises your car

Appraising a fifteen-year-old supermini is not the same exercise as valuing a nearly-new car. Most of what matters is visible in twenty minutes, with the bonnet up and a walk round:

• Condition, inside and out. Kerbed wheels and a chipped bonnet are normal at this age and already priced in. What moves the number is corrosion round the arches and sills, mismatched paint, dents needing a panel, and a damp interior.
• Mileage, read against the age. A high total on its own is less alarming than people expect. A steadily used car beats a low-mileage one that has sat for years.
• How much MOT is left. A long stretch remaining is worth real money, because it says something independent about the car. A short one is not a deal-breaker, it just changes the arithmetic.
• Service history. Stamps in the book are ideal, but a carrier bag of receipts is nearly as good.
• Number of keys. Two is normal. A single key is a real cost to replace, and on a cheap car that is a noticeable slice of the value.
• The V5C, in your name. The logbook must show you as the keeper at your current address.
• Tyres and bodywork. Tread left on all four is money in the bank. A cracked screen, or a set down to the markers, is a bill somebody has to pay.
• How it drives. A short drive tells you more than any checklist: noises, smoke, warning lights, clutch and gearbox.

Mention faults before they are found. Honesty has never lost anybody a deal in Scarborough.

Why the figure differs from a private sale price

Here is the honest answer: advertise the car privately, be patient, and you will usually end up with more money than a part exchange gives you. Anybody saying otherwise is selling something.

The gap exists because a dealer and a private buyer want two different things. A private buyer takes the car as it stands. A part exchange has to be got ready first, and every car sold in Scarborough from this forecourt leaves with twelve months MOT, a full service before handover and a three-month engine and gearbox warranty, after a 50-mile road test and mechanical health check, all before a penny comes back. Add advertising and forecourt space, and the difference stops looking like a trick and starts looking like arithmetic.

At the end of the market where most of the stock here sits, the sums are modest enough that plenty of people decide convenience is worth more.

What you gain in exchange

The figure is lower, but you are buying back time and risk:

• No advert to write or pay for. No photographs on the driveway, no renewals when the car does not sell in a fortnight.
• No messages to field. No offers well below the asking price, no questions from people who never intended to buy.
• No strangers at your door. You are not giving your address to people you have never met, or handing keys over for a test drive and hoping.
• No payment risk. No screenshots of transfers that never arrive, no cash to count.
• It all happens in one visit. Old car in, new car out, both sides done at the same desk.

If you would rather have the money and are happy to do the work, that is a sensible choice. There is more on the trade-offs on our private car sales page, and on selling your car in Scarborough.

Cars with outstanding finance

A car with outstanding finance cannot simply be part exchanged. Until the agreement is cleared, the finance company retains an interest in the vehicle and it is not yours to hand over. The settlement has to be dealt with before the car can change hands.

Ring your finance company and ask for a settlement figure. They are obliged to provide one, it is valid for a set number of days, and it is rarely the same as adding up the payments left. Bring it with you. If the car is worth more than the settlement, the difference is what there is to work with. If the settlement is higher, you would be covering the shortfall, and it is better to know that at home than on the forecourt in Scarborough.

Worth saying alongside that: no finance, HP or PCP is offered here. Payment is bank transfer or card, and customers arranging their own funding are welcome.

What to bring, and what happens to the tax and V5C

Ten minutes gathering paperwork before you set off for Scarborough is worth a surprising amount. Bring the V5C logbook in your name, both keys if two exist, the service book and any receipts, any MOT certificates you have kept, and the locking wheel nut key, the most forgotten item. Parcel shelf, spare wheel and radio code count too. Bring your driving licence and proof of address for the car you are buying.

Vehicle tax no longer transfers, so the tax on your old car does not carry over. Once the change of keeper is registered, the DVLA refunds the full remaining months automatically and cancels any direct debit. Part months are not refunded, so the start of a tax month beats the end of one.

On the logbook, the section used when a car goes to a motor trader differs from the one used for a private sale. It is completed on the spot, you keep your portion, and the DVLA is notified. Confirmation that you are no longer the keeper should arrive within about four weeks. Insurance stays your job.

Trading in against something on the forecourt

Stock and prices change daily, so the current list is the place to look. Makes and models vary constantly — Corsas, Astras, Zafiras, Merivas, Fiestas, 107s, C1s, Picantos and i10s have all been through here, among others — but they are the same sort of car: first cars, second household cars and runabouts. If you are working to a number, the under £3,000 and cheaper pages are the place to start, and there are usually a couple of automatics among the used cars in Scarborough here.

You are not obliged to buy, either. Lex buys cars outright too, so if you simply want the car gone, send the details through the sell your car form.

Pavilion Garage is on Somerset Terrace, YO11 2PA, open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, with weekends by appointment. Because Lex is often out collecting cars, please ring 07900 910 588 before you travel, particularly from Filey, Bridlington or further across North Yorkshire. Directions are on the location page.